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San Diego, once a Spanish mission, provides a variety of fun activities for children, from building sandcastles on its beaches to visiting amusement parks like SeaWorld. San Diego’s Balboa Park, one of the largest cultural and entertainment complexes in the United States, features 15 museums, performing arts centers and the San Diego Zoo. The park also schedules children’s concerts and events, and San Diego also has locations for kids who are sports fans, including Qualcomm Stadium.

Visitor Centers

The three visitor information centers operated by the Sand Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau are in downtown San Diego, East County and the Village of La Jolla. Their multilingual staff members and volunteers help visitors find attractions, restaurants, overnight accommodations and upcoming events. The centers have brochures, city maps and free vacation planning kits, which have information about discounts and tour tickets.

Beaches and Playgrounds

Many of San Diego’s playgrounds are located on area beaches. Mission Bay Park Playground, a 4,235-acre park in the Pacific Beach/Mission Beach area, features play equipment for kids 2 to 10, including swings and climbing structures. It has a picnic area and an open space for kite flying.

Mission Beach extends 2 miles from Mission Bay to Pacific Beach and has a boardwalk for walking and biking. It provides designated surfing and scuba diving areas. Pacific Beach features Crystal Pier, a public fishing pier. Both beaches provide year-round, on-duty lifeguards.

Shelter Island Park, a secluded island on San Diego Bay, provides views of the bay and downtown. It has two playgrounds with toddler play equipment. The park's small beach has a boat ramp and fishing pier.

Balboa Park

Balboa Park, the center of activity in San Diego, offers year-round children’s activities. The 100-acre San Diego Zoo has rare and endangered animals from more than 800 species, as well as a collection of more than 700,000 exotic plants. Five giant pandas call the zoo home, and the Giant Panda Discovery Center has interactive exhibits. Its Nighttime Zoo, offered during summer, features live entertainment, such as animal tricks, musicians, comedy acts and acrobats.

The Balboa Park Carousel, constructed in 1910, is next to the zoo and offers five-minute rides. Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater schedules puppet performances all year, featuring hand puppets, marionettes and shadow puppets. The Passport to Balboa Park lets visitors experience 14 museums for one price, and is offered as a one-day or seven-day pass.

Festivals and Sport Events

San Diego has numerous annual festivals and sporting events that are fun for children. San Diego Comic Con International takes place in July and attracts visitors of all ages who enjoy comic books, movies and superheroes. The event plays anime movies all day, from classics to movies making their premiere. Some attendees come to the festival dressed as their favorite comic book characters. Celebrities such as “Spiderman” creator Stan Lee sometimes attend and give autographs.

Qualcomm Stadium seats 70,561 spectators and hosts the San Diego Chargers, NCAA bowl games and motocross events. Summer visitors see exhibition games by the Chargers and the San Diego State University Aztecs football team.

Amusement Parks

San Diego offer amusement park entertainment in the city and the surrounding area. SeaWorld San Diego features rides, animal exhibits and live animal shows. Shipwreck Rapids, a nine-person inner tube raft ride, involves five minutes of twists and turns through an isolated island. Oscar’s Rocking Eel ride spins and rocks from side to side. Small children must ride with an adult. SeaWorld’s live shows include “Sesame Street Presents: Lights, Camera, Imagination” and the Shamu “Believe” show.

Legoland California, 30 miles north in Carlsbad, boasts more than 60 rides and life-size Lego structures. Duplo Village has life-size African animals, such as giraffes, zebras and lions, as well as slides.

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About the Author

Based in Tucson, Ariz., Cicely A. Richard has been writing since 1996. Her articles have been published in the “Arizona Daily Star” newspaper and “ForeWord Magazine.” Richard earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in English and journalism from Louisiana State University. .

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